At Least 43 Migrants Drown off the coast of Tunisia

At least 43 migrants have drowned off the coast of Tunisia after their boat capsized overnight, reported the Tunisian Red Crescent.

A boat capsized that was carrying 127 migrants after just leaving Libya’s coastal city of Zuwara on Friday, July 2, in a failed bid to cross the Mediterranean Sea towards Italy, said the head of the charity, Mongi Slim.

The boat capsized due to strong currents and waves just hours after leaving the Libyan city located on the border with Tunisia. Of the people onboard, 46 were Sudanese, 16 were Eritrean and 12 were Bengali. 84 were rescued by fishermen, the defence ministry’s spokesman Mohamed Zekri said.

Libya is often used as a departure point for people making the perilous journey across the Mediterranean into Europe.

Several shipwrecks from smugglers’ boats carrying migrants have occurred in recent weeks, as attempts to reach the continent become more frequent amid warmer summer weather.

Last week, Tunisian coastguards found seven bodies on the beaches of Djerba, an island off the southern coast. They were buried at the cemetery for migrants – in Zarzis, Tunisia – who died in the Mediterranean.

Mr Slim made an urgent plea for help for the hundreds of migrants who escaped death, as his organisation is unable to provide housing.

“The three centres in Zarzis are full and cannot shelter more people. We also have 380 other migrants in confinement in Djerba with nowhere to go,” the head of the Red Crescent said.

The head of the Red Crescent, meanwhile, launched an urgent call about the fate of hundreds of migrants who escaped death as his organization has no means to provide housing.

“The three centres in Zarzis are full and cannot shelter more people. We also have 380 other migrants in confinement in Djerba with nowhere to go,” Slim said.

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